


chant ii

by geminisyrup



Category: DreamSMP, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Betrayal, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Baggage, Family Dynamics, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Inspired by Hadestown, Men Crying, Minecraft, Natural Disasters, Non-Canonical, Non-Linear Narrative, Songfic, slimecicles autotuned crying, wilbur's offhand videos are canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26846062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geminisyrup/pseuds/geminisyrup
Summary: Now, everyone knows the walls have ears.-if the first war was hamilton, then this one is hadestown
Relationships: no<3 - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	chant ii

Tommy took a moment to catch his breath. There, in front of them stood the throne room. Everything they had worked for lay in front of them, seemingly effortless. There were no fights, no struggle walking through the land that was once theirs. It seemed too easy. Wilbur led the way, the creaking of the carved door reminding him that everyone here was still human, still flawed. At the foot of the room, Jschlatt sat, anticipating. Quackity stood next to him, whispering. When he saw the two boys enter, he scampered away. Tommy stared in disbelief of the opulence surrounding him.

Fundy and Niki could hear the yelling from the room they were hunkering down in. They had no way of knowing that Wilbur and Tommy were coming today. A single question lingered in the air. “Is it true?” Niki repeated, Fundy shushing her so he could hear.

Tubbo placed down the bag he was holding with a thump as it hit the stone pathing. “Is it true?” He whispered, hearing a familiar voice from the palace’s half open door.

“Is it true?” Tommy shouted, demanding an answer. The horned man only laughed at him.

“Children these days.” He glanced over at Wilbur, like he would agree with him. When he received just a glare in response, his grin soured. He leaned back, crossing his leg atop his knee. “Tommy, when I was your age I held something too. We fought and we fought, but I forced him to stay alive. I saved him. Only for him to betray me and leave me to die,” his eyes bore into Wilbur’s. “Taking the land that I had built for him-, for us.” Wilbur’s face scrunched up as Schlatt twisted their past. Tommy looked behind him unsuredly. “I learned that if I wanted to keep something: I would have to fight for it. Capture it. Kill it, even. I learned that caring is dangerous. Do you think I care for anyone here?” A chill passed in the room. “Exactly, take it from an old man.”

Fundy had his head stuck against the crack in the floorboards, Niki leaning in to try and listen too. He pulled away, staring down in disbelief. Niki put her hand on his shoulder as she stood up, “Tubbo might know what’s happening down there.” But he stayed where he was sitting. 

“Is it true, what he said?”

Tommy slumped in his stool, picking at the unsanded wood. They were being held willingly in this side room while Jschlatt talked to his advisors. Wilbur opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking to his junior. “When I was younger,” he started, Tommy perking up. 

Wilbur stumbled down the muddy hill, grabbing onto the side to avoid slipping to his death. “Hear me out Wil,” Schlatt started. “What were we doing back in the 1800’s and before then, that was so good at not spreading global warming?” Wilbur grabbed his hand to pull him back up onto the stable land. “The Industrial Revolution-,”

“Yeah, yeah that was great.” He pressed his hands against the wood planks that made up their home.

“Tell me about what you guys did back then that was so successful?” Schlatt added a few stones underneath where Wilbur was pushing.

“Well governa’,” Wilbur put on a childish over-the-top british accent. “We just threw all our shit in the river.” Schlatt giggled. 

“Tell me about the children. What were the children doing then?” The two trudged through the forest, grabbing any large logs or sticks to build up their shelter.

“Oh well governa’ we were up in the chimneys, we fucking-, ooh uh I shouldn’t swear, me ma’ will have a go at me.” He laughed. “We would be eh, working in the moines.” Schlatt wheezed.

“Jesus Christ.”

“Can we do that? Can we do that in Mwinecraft?” They both lost it, doubling over and dropping their items. When they pulled themselves together, they found that the valley was completely washed away. And soon, their home. The walls were uneffective in blocking the water. Wilbur yelled out as he started to run, something about his guitar. Schlatt just stared, looking at the depths feet away from him. He thought of all the time they wasted joking around. He soon followed, grabbing what was left of his stuff. He made sure to keep it away from Wilbur's.

Wilbur waited for Quackity to leave the room before he continued. He plucked the chords of his guitar, lightly tuning them. “You know how he is." Tommy really didn't know, but he nodded anyway.

The sound of arrows hitting the wood paneling was the only thing that resonated in the room. That, and the explosions of dynamite landing much too close for anyone’s comfort. The two boys, men, sat in silence, eating the same meal they’ve eaten for the past week. Wilbur didn’t remember if Schlatt had a moustache before then or not. His dinner didn’t fill him up like it used to. “I’m going out there.” Schlatt grabbed his swords.

“Really?” Wilbur smiled.

“Bladez is making his debut.” Schlatt struggled to keep his serious tone.

“I’ll watch from inside, I’m not going out there.” Wilbur pulled the curtain away from the window, bringing his guitar over. Outside, Schlatt was running towards a group of mobs, swinging wildly.

“Unscathed, Wilbur! Unscathed!” He boasted. “Look at me!” He blocked an off track arrow with his sword.

“You’re like slithering behind them,” he commented. He danced around for Wilbur's entertainment. A spider lunged onto Schlatt’s back, causing him to fall. Wilbur plucked a few strings, slowly tuning to a melody.

“It’s getting a bit dicey out here, Wilbur!” A horde of zombies chase him as he fights off a skeleton.

“You’re doing great!” He laughed, cupping his head in his hands. The lighthearted tone of the moment slowly collapsed as Schlatt struggled to get back up after he tripped.

“Wilbur,” he was holding a zombie back with his boot, reaching for his lost sword. “Wilbur!” He yelled, panicking. Wilbur put his guitar down against the makeshift table. He hit his knee as he ran out, shoving the zombie away with his bare hands. He grabs onto the other, pulling him up and shoving him towards the door. An arrow lodges into Schlatt’s back as they ran towards the door, the weapons abandoned. The two men collapsed to the hardwood floor, gasping for breath. Wilbur leans over to assess Schlatt's wounds. For the first time in months, Wilbur saw Schlatt cry. 

“But that was in another life.” Wilbur held Tommy’s hand as he spoke. Tommy pouted, feeling stupid for ever idolizing the man in the first place. Footsteps echoed above them, he took the time to note the messy carpentry of the ceiling.

“You’ve gone quiet Schlatt. What’s up?” Wilbur rolled up his oversized sleeves. Schlatt just laughed, keeping his head down over the crafting table. “I can tell you’re onto something.” He smiled, sitting down across from him. Schlatt hummed a tune to himself.

“I just wanted the piece of mind, Wilbur.”

“Huh?”

“If you knew anything about the accumulation of wealth,” he polished his newly made bucket with a raggety cloth. “Having what you have is never enough. I just want more. I just want more.” He mumbled.

“It was greed,” Wilbur stood up. “You risked both of our lives for your opulence.”

“I am motivated by my own vanity and nothing else.” Schlatt started stepping up the ladder in between them. “I think it’s time we go our separate ways.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“I think it’s time we go our separate ways.”

“In what way?” Wilbur shook the ladder, looking up at a grinning Schlatt.

“This tower is mine now, you lost.”

“What? I helped make this!” He protested, “this is ours!” Schlatt pulled the ladder up, pulling it out of Wilbur’s hands. Wilbur looked out at the lake of lava beneath him, only now noticing how much he was sweating. He looked back up to Schlatt, who was just smiling.

“You lost.”

Tommy sat with his head in his knees, listening intently. “That was in another world.” Wilbur’s voice shook. “That was when I was young and dumb and falliable.” He tucked his instrument behind him, head held low. A muffled conversation was happening above them.

Tubbo rushed up the flight of stairs, meeting Niki and a forlorn Fundy. “Shh, keep your head low!” She whisper-yelled, “they’re gonna be looking for us.”

“I had to sneak in around the back, the throne room is blocked off.” Tubbo explained, leading the two down the stairs.

“Yeah, Wilbur and Tommy are here.” Fundy buts in. Niki and Tubbo looked at each other.

“You seem excited.”

“I’ve had a change of heart. I was in need of shelter and traded my morals for comfort.” The fox-boy continued. “We are going to join them down there.” The other two were taken aback by the sudden heartfelt confession, nodding in agreement.

When they reconvened, the tone had changed tremendously. Jschlatt tapped his fingers against the leather of his chair. “Tommy, trust me. When I was your age, I suffered for the power I have now. You can’t rely on anyone for success. Other men will just hold you down. You know what’s good for you boy. Come, Wilbur will get you killed like this. Trust me, I would know.” Jschlatt held his hand out. 

When Tommy didn’t budge, Jschlatt’s tone changed. “I built this country from mediocrity to glory. I built infrastructure! Electricity! Don’t you hear it? I gave people work, I gave them wages.” He leaned forward in his seat. “They want to live here. Don’t you hear it? You were uneffective and weak so I threw you out. The walls were useless so I tore them down." He scowled, clutching the armrests. He focused on the more malleable of the two. "I knew from the very first day I met you Wilbur, that you were going to fuck me." He paused, "over." 

Jschlatt prodded at him, trying to get one of them to break. The two just stared blankly at him, having learned the tactic from Techno. "I built this country from nothing Wilbur!" He pointed his finger at him. "You are nothing! You can strum your guitar and sing all you want. But at the end of the day, you don’t have the guts I have!” Jschlatt stood out of his throne, shouting like a child. “You never did Wilbur! You never will! You lost! You lost!” He cried out.

The youngest stood in between this conflict, feeling deathly awkward. He looked to Wilbur for guidance, but Wilbur had nothing to say. Schlatt slumped down in his seat, weeping into his hand. 

Tommy was shocked when Wilbur just glared at him, knowing that he was susceptible to such acts. The emperor switches back into his hardened character, almost on cue. “I’ll tell you what. Before I set a bounty for your head, I’m giving you a chance. Sing me a song.” Wilbur pulled his guitar in front of him.

“That’s it?”

“Play one of the ones you sang to me when we were trapped on that island, make me feel young again. Sing!” Schlatt grinned with tears still in his eyes. He spoke breathily. “For an old man.”

**Author's Note:**

> procrastinating my multichapter wip to write something else?? NOO i would neveer
> 
> might fuck around and do a pt 2 if this does well idk


End file.
